Sierra Leone – Mandingo – SLPP – Women – Guinea – Passports
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Country Advice Sierra Leone Sierra Leone – SLE36127 – Mandingo – SLPP – Women – Guinea – Passports 3 March 2010 Please note that the following alternate spellings for Mandingo were found in the sources consulted: Mandigo, Malinke, Mandinka, Mandigo, Malinke, Maninka, Eastern Maninkakan, Mandingoe and Mandinka. Information searches for this research response were conducted using all of these spelling variations. 1. Please advise whether people of Mandingo ethnicity are targeted in Sierra Leone? The following three reports found in the sources consulted indicate that people of Mandingo ethnicity have been targeted by supporters of the All People's Congress (APC): A press statement issued by the National Secretary General of the SLPP describes the intimidation of Mandingo SLPP supporters by youth supporters of the All People's Congress. The press statement reports that on 11 February 2010 during an election campaign for a local council by-election APC supporters “raged invectives of all sorts on SLPP supporters, particularly the Fullahs and Mandingoes since the SLPP candidate named Ibrahim Jalloh is a Fullah”. The press release states that some members of the APC carried knives, machetes and bottles.1 As no other reports were found in the sources consulted regarding this incident, the veracity of the SLPP’s claims of APC harassment can therefore not be confirmed at this time. On 20 September 2007, BBC News reported that in the town of Koquima “shops belonging to members of ex-President Tejan Kabbah's ethnic Mandingo people, have been looted and razed”. These attacks followed the election of All People's Congress (APC) leader Ernest Bai Koroma as President. The report also states that members of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) were targeted following the election. According to the report President Koroma criticised the post election violence and “told police to use all their powers to get those responsible”.2 A press statement issued by the SLPP on 19 September 2007 states that Mandingos who support the SLPP, along with other ethnicities who belong to the ‘Tana’ group, had been targeted in Bo and Kono districts. According to the press statement these individuals were “persistently molested, harassed and forced out of their houses”. The report states that the Tana group includes Fullahs, 1 Saffa, J.J. 2010, ‘Local Council Bye-Election in Ward 042, Lower Bamabara, Kenema District’, Sierra Leone People’s Party official website, 15 February http://www.slpp.ws/docs/Press_Statement_February_15_20101.pdf – Accessed 2 March 2010 – Attachment 1. 2 ‘Violence spreads in Sierra Leone’ 2007, BBC News, 20 September http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7004686.stm – Accessed 11 February 2010 – Attachment 2. Page 1 of 11 Mandingos Susus and Maracas. No information was found in the sources consulted regarding the ‘Tana’ group.3 One reason for the targeting of people of Mandingo ethnicity could be that Mandingo (and the Fullah) ethnic groups are reportedly considered to be part of a broader group of “strangers” in Sierra Leone, even though they have been present in the country for centuries. According a 2007 report commissioned by the UNHCR “many Sierra Leoneans do not consider Mandingos and Fullah to be ‘indigenes’ because they do not ‘belong’ in any particular locality”. The report states that “the distinguishing characteristics of the ‘stranger’ lifestyle are adherence to a strict interpretation of the Koran that precludes [secret] society membership, a specialization in import-export trade, retailing and the diamond industry, and finally a tendency to live in towns rather than the countryside”. Targeting of Mandingos may also be the product of longstanding political rivalry between “indigenous” Limbas and “stranger” Mandingos.4 The USDOS Country Report on Human Rights Practices for Sierra Leone reported in February 2009 that “ethnic clashes” had taken place between the Limbas and Mandingos which “resulted in injuries and property damage, including killed livestock and burned homes and villages”. The USDOS report states that the Limba ethnic group is the third largest in Sierra Leone and they have traditionally supported the APC party.5 No other reports were found in the sources consulted regarding the specific targeting of Mandingo peoples in Sierra Leone. The lack of publicly available information on the situation for the Mandingo people in Sierra Leone may be the result of the lack of adequate news media within the country. The USDOS reported in February 2009 that the government at times restricted freedom of speech and of the press and that “journalists practiced self‑censorship”. The report contains the following information on the news media in Sierra Leone: More than 50 newspapers were published in Freetown during the year, covering a wide spectrum of interests and editorial opinion. Most of the newspapers were independent, and several were associated with opposition political parties. Reporting was often politicized and inaccurate, in large part because of poor journalistic skills, insufficient resources, and lack of professional ethics. Corruption among journalists was widespread. Newspapers openly and routinely criticized the government and its officials, as well as opposition parties, but also libeled individuals.6 Minorities at Risk also reported in December 2006 that “the current situation in Sierra Leone is very difficult to judge. The years of fighting have resulted in very little information leaving the country”.7 3 Saffa, J.J. 2007 ‘Press Statement’, Sierra Leone People’s Party Official website, 19 September http://www.slpp.ws/browse.asp?page=480- Accessed 2 March 2010 – Attachment 3. 4 Fanthorpe, R. 2007, Sierra Leone: The Influence of the Secret Societies, With Special Reference to Female Genital Mutilation, UNHCR website, August, pp. 13-14 http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/46cee3152.pdf- Accessed 26 February 2010 – Attachment 4. 5 US Department of State 2009, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2008 –Sierra Leone, 25 February – Attachment 5. 6 US Department of State 2009, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2008 –Sierra Leone, 25 February, Section 2.a – Attachment 5. 7 Minorities at Risk 2006, Assessment for Limba in Sierra Leone, 31 December http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/assessment.asp?groupId=45102 – Accessed 25 February 2010 – Attachment 6. Page 2 of 11 2. What is the situation with regard to women, and Mandingo women in particular? Limited information was found in the sources consulted regarding the situation of Mandingo women in Sierra Leone. According to 1999 report by the Joshua Project, the Mandingo ethnic group in Sierra Leone is a patrilineal society with traditional gender roles. The article reports that the men undertake farm work and hunting and women are responsible for household duties and child rearing. The report also states that the Mandingo group have a tradition of arranged marriages and that men must pay a “bride price”.8 No other more recent information was found in the sources consulted regarding the Mandingo in Sierra Leone. However, information from the Mandingo Nation website also indicates that the wider Mandingo ethnic group throughout Africa, has a patriarchal culture and that “most Mandingo women are house-wives”.9 A 2005 case study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) provides information on gender based violence in Sierra Leone. The case study includes two interviews with women of Mandingo ethnicity women who have been the victims of domestic violence. However, information contained in the report indicates that gender based violence in Sierra Leone is not a problem confined to particular ethnic group. The case study found that traditional gender roles and values throughout Sierra Leone have resulted in the normalisation of domestic violence as an “accepted part of spousal relations”.10 Reliable sources indicate that women in Sierra Leone are subjected to high levels of domestic violence, rape, sexual harassment and female genital mutilation. Reports state that while legislation prohibits rape and domestic violence, both are common and indictments against perpetrators are rare. Available information also indicates that legal and societal discrimination against women in Sierra Leone is widespread and affects women’s access to education and employment and their rights in relation to marriage, divorce, property and inheritance. Reports state that under customary law women are viewed as having the same status as minors.11 The following sources provide additional information on the situation for women in Sierra Leone: On 15 December 2009, BBC News reported that a woman was barred from being elected as a Chief due to her gender. The report states that the woman also lost an appeal against the ban. The report states that “women are barred 8 ‘Maninka, Mandingo of Sierra Leone’ 1999, Joshua Project website, source: Bethany World Prayer Center http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=106266&rog3=SL – Accessed 10 February 2010 – Attachment 7. Please note that this report uses the term Maninka instead of Mandingo. 9 Borade. G. 2009, ‘History of the Mandingo Tribe’, Mandingo Nations Website http://mandingonations.com/May_2009/Historyof%20the%20mandingotribs.html – Accessed 26 February 2010 – Attachment 8. 10 United Nations Population Fund 2005, Gender Based Violence in Sierra Leone: A Case Study, 20 October, pp. 1 & 38-39 http://www.unfpa.org/women/docs/gbv_sierraleone.pdf – Accessed 25 February 2010 – Attachment 9. 11 US Department of State 2009, Country Reports